the 'I love you' in a lifetime, from beginning to the end
by The Cinder Crown
Summary: The first and last time Minerva and Albus said 'I love you' to each other. Two-shot. Candy fluff & broken hearts...
1. One thing nothing can destroy: our love

**Written for the 'Candy floss and broken hearts competition': Part 1: Write about the first time your OTP (MinervaAlbus) said 'I love you' to each other.**

 **Written for the HPFC Royalty Competition: #19. Bloody Baron**

 **Words: 3,717**

 **A.N.: The lyrics belong to the song 'we are one' from the Disney movie 'The Lion King II'. It's really one of my favourites and I recommend you listen to it again :)**

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 **One thing nothing can destroy is our love deep inside 'cause we are one**

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With his drink in one hand, Albus let his sparkling blue eyes wander over the dance floor and scanned the many people in the crowd.

Admittedly, the muggle-themed winter ball that was hosted by the ministry every five years has always been a very popular event, but he had never seen so many attending people like this year.

Many witches and wizards whom he hadn't seen in years had apparently crawled out of their secret hiding places to take the chance of dressing up in muggle suits and ball gowns that were rarely worn in the wizarding world.

On the other hand, Albus couldn't blame them. He had been delighted to be given a reason to visit muggle-London again to buy his own attire for the night: a black smoking with matching black leather shoes and a smooth white shirt underneath it. In order to round things up, he had also chosen an additional black tie.

And even though he usually preferred more colourful types of clothing, he was indeed surprisingly satisfied with his looks tonight.

But Albus also knew that without his best friend's wife, Perenelle Flamel, he probably would have chosen something completely different and totally unfitting for the occasion. Thankfully, Perenelle had, upon seeing the bright and golden shimmering yellow suit in his hand, told him straight forward and without hesitation that he _'had to dress up properly or this lovely girl of yours will never waste a single thought about you ever again.'_

Albus, who had never before heard her speak to him in such a demanding tone, had immediately given her permission to look for whatever clothes were suitable for him to wear.

Needless to say, Perenelle's earlier words had indeed struck a chord. After all, Albus still couldn't quite believe how lucky he was that such a wonderful woman like Minerva had really agreed to be his date for tonight's ball.

Taking a sip of his drink, he continued his way back from the bar over to Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, who had given him the invitation to the ball in the first place.

Taking one step after another towards his friends' direction and occasionally avoiding some of the staggering and stumbling people - who had somehow managed to get completely drunk after only an hour – he smiled upon recalling a couple of very fond memories…

.

 _Albus had first met Minerva as a fifth-year student at Hogwarts. Back then, he had been her transfiguration Professor and even then he was quite fascinated by her magical abilities, as well as their shared interest in transfiguration and ancient spells._

 _During her years at Hogwarts she has – without a doubt – been his favourite and most talented student. And despite his best efforts, Minerva had somehow managed to worm herself into his well-guarded heart._

 _At first, Albus had not quite known what it was that caused his heart to skip a beat every time she looked at him with these amazing emerald eyes or when her small, soft hand accidently touched his own when she handed him a book or paper…_

 _But time after time, especially after her graduation, Albus had realized, that he cared for her a lot more than he was supposed to._

 _Naturally, Albus had been shocked, surprised and secretly delighted when he heard a couple of years later that the young ebony haired witch had been hired to be his successor as transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts; and it had literally been out of words upon seeing her transformation from the little shy and talented student he had remembered to the intelligent, experienced and grown up woman she had become._

 _But the way she bit on her red lips when she was thinking, or the way her emerald eyes sparkled when she has yet another great idea on her mind, or simply the way she softly smiles at him are tiny little details that hadn't changed over her years as an auror._

 _And well, during the last couple of month since she had joined the Hogwarts staff, Albus had found himself spending more and more time with this lovely young woman. He had given her some advice concerning some of the more difficult students and invited her to a couple of chess games, which by now have become a sort of habit._

 _He still remembered that one time during one of their by now weekly chess-matches, that she had complained about some of her students and that they were constantly distracted by something. Albus had simply laughed and told her that it was probably the fact that the students never had such a beautiful young witch as a teacher before._

 _The light, crimson blush that had crept over her rosy cheeks was something Albus would never forget, especially since she flashed him a tiny, but truly heart-warming smile afterwards._

 _Ever since that day, Albus had developed the habit of escorting Minerva from her rooms to either the Great Hall or her classroom. On the other hand, Minerva had started to visit Albus in his private quarters ever other night; in her hand usually a cup of steaming hot chocolate for Albus and a cup of chamomile tea for herself, as well as a book in her other hand which she always read when she was curled up on his couch while Albus finished his paperwork before he joined her._

 _By now, Albus knew that he was falling helplessly and head over heels for the 27-year old ebony haired witch. And despite the by now lingering glances they shoot each other, the soft touching of their hands every now and then and the slow but steady sparks that are flying between them, Albus had only recently found his famous Gryffindor courage and asked her out if she would consider to be his date for tonight's winter ball._

 _The considered to be most powerful wizard alive had literally held his breath in nervous excitement when she had just stared at him for a moment before she nodded and softly smiled at him._

And well, now here he was. Waiting for the woman who had slowly stolen the keys to his heart…

.

"Excuse me, Sir," a rather unpleasant voice tore him away from his daydreaming and back to the present.

In front of him stood a short woman with mousy-brown hair, pale blue eyes and a – in Albus' opinion – really ugly pink dress.

Tightening his grip around his drink, he slightly moved is head and caught Nicholas' grey eyes, who was standing only a couple of meters behind the blonde; his arms securely wrapped around his Perenelle.

The alchemy master and old mentor only shook his head and flashed him an evil grin that clearly said ' _For your sake I hope that's not_ her _.'_

Albus tried not to roll his eyes at his old friend and shook his head.

Nicholas was usually an incredibly nice man, but due to the fact that Albus hadn't given him any kind of information whatsoever about his 'date' for tonight, the alchemy master clearly enjoyed to ' _guess_ ' about all the potential female candidates in the ball-room.

Sadly, he enjoyed it a little too much, and due to the Alchemy master's little joke-like post in the 'Daily Prophet' that had described Albus as the ' _most eligible bachelor in the wizarding world_ ', the handsome auburn haired wizard had spent most of the evening to kindly reject all the women who not-so-undiscretly tried to throw themselves that him.

"I have watched you standing here at the edge of the dance floor for quite some time now and I was wondering if you needed some company?" The blonde woman asked again.

Albus luckily managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes at her. _'Yes, he would most certainly get back at Nicholas for that incredibly stupid joke,_ ' he thought while taking a deep breath in order to find the right words for the woman in front of him.

"After all," the annoying blue-eyed woman continued without giving Albus even the slightest chance to voice his opinion, "it seems quite strange that such a lovely and handsome man like yourself is attending a ministry ball without a female companion."

The auburn haired man sighed and at the same time skillfully ignored his friend's rather loud cackle in the background.

"I'm quite flattered, Miss…?" Albus finally managed to start.

"Holloway," the blonde responded eagerly and beamed brightly at him. "Clarissa Holloway, but please, call me Claire!"

Albus faked a sweet smile. He simply was a man who wasn't attracted to these kind of woman. He preferred witches who didn't need to pretend to be someone they were not… witches who cared about other people rather than themselves… witches who liked him for who he was and not for the glory he received for freeing them from Grindelwald's regime… simply a witch like Minerva.

"Yes, _Claire,_ " the 42-year old man finally mumbled and removed the blonde's hand which she had seductively placed on his chest. "Like I already said, I'm quite flattered. But I have you disappoint you. I have already asked a lovely young woman to be my date for tonight."

Claire looked like couldn't believe her ears. "But… But, then why isn't she here then?" She asked outraged.

This time, Albus wasn't able to conceal his sigh. "The reason I am still on my own tonight is because there were some… _complications_ that needed to be taken care of. But I can assure you, my _female companion_ will be here momentarily."

For a moment, Albus feared that the blonde would burst out in tears; but her eyes were only watering up a little and she swallowed hard.

Luckily, Perenelle seemed to have taken pity on him, grabbed her husbands arm and tugged him the last couple of steps over to Albus and the blonde.

"I'm sorry, my dear," the lady Flamel said in an overly sweet tone, "I'm afraid our dear Albus here isn't… erm… yes, _eligible_ anymore."

Claire's eyes glared at the elderly woman. "But the announce in the daily prophet – "

"The daily prophet has received _wrong_ information," she said and flashed her husband a look that clearly said _'do not say a thing now or something bad will happen to you.'_

Flashing both Albus and Penerelle a dirty look, Claire turned on her pink heels and stormed through the gigantic white double doors on the other side, out of the ball-room and nearly ran over another person who was just about to enter through the door.

"Oh come on, Penny! You should have let Albus suffer a little more! He wouldn't tell me a thing about his-"

Nicholas was silenced by his wife's rather sharp elbow in his ribs.

Perenelle said something to scold her husband, but Albus didn't really pay attention to what it was.

His entire attention was fixed upon the young woman at the other side of the room, whom Claire had almost run into. She looked a little shy upon seeing all the people in the ball-room but entered nonetheless.

"Albus? What's wrong with you?" Nicholas asked and when he didn't receive and answer, he followed Albus' mesmerized glance and his eyes widened. "By the Bloody Baron's sword! She is stunningly beautiful!"

All Albus could do was give a short nod.

He watched in amazement as the young emerald eyed witch gracefully made her way over the dance-floor. Her dark, floor-length emerald green dress, that so perfectly matched her sparkling eyes swished almost soundlessly over the white marble floor; it stressed her already slim figure even more and Albus could tell that she wasn't quite comfortable with all the stares she was drawing upon herself.

His eyes darkened a little when he saw all the men that were staring at her; mostly due to her – admittedly low-cut and strapless - green dress that was showing a lot more cleavage than even Albus had seen so far.

And instantly, his knees went weak as he realized that she had decided to wear her long, ebony hair open. It cascaded down her bare shoulders in lovely dark curls and made her even more beautiful.

He then watched as she slowed down a little and stopped right in the middle of the dance-floor to look around; apparently in search for someone.

When her eyes met his blue ones, a smile appeared on her face that lit up the whole room.

His heart skipped a beat, but he managed to return the smile and – for everyone else unnoticedly – winked her over.

When she finally made her way through the crowd, Nicholas stared at Albus with wide eyes.

"You know her?" He asked, clearly surprised.

The young auburn haired man nodded and once the ebony-haired witch had reached him, he extended his hand to her in a very gentlemanly gesture.

She took it happily and beamed at him. "I'm sorry for being late. But little Miss Grey was terribly homesick, the poor dear. I decided to stay until she managed to peacefully fall asleep. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

He just smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. I'm just happy you didn't change your mind about coming with me tonight."

Minerva looked at him with sparkling emerald eyes. "I wouldn't miss it."

Albus was sure that the heat in the room was rising, but suddenly he heard Nicholas decent attempt to clear his throat.

"Nicholas, this is my lovely companion, Minerva McGonagall," he introduced her quickly and she reached out to shake the elder man's hand.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Mr. Flamel," Minerva said politely, "Albus has told me a lot about you."

Nicholas chuckled. "I wish I could say the same thing about you but – " he once again got elbowed by his wife.

"What my husband wants to say is," Perenelle started and flashed her husband another one of her glares, "that we have been so excited to meet you, dear. And please, feel free to call us by our first names. I don't want to feel so old."

Minerva blushed a little and leaned a little back against Albus.

He smiled and tried his best not to stare at her back in a too obvious way; the dress looked as stunning from this perspective as it did from the front: It was also very low-cut at the back, in a V-like style and therefore showed a lot of her slim, but quite well-trained body.

Albus felt his heart beating even faster and the blood rushed through his veins as Minerva decided to lean fully against his chest and he took the opportunity to put one of his strong arms around her slim waist.

He heard her taking a deep and slightly surprised breath, but she didn't turn away from him; instead she tried to unnoticed touch his hands with her own.

However, Nicholas' sudden cough caused her to let go again.

"Erm, well, I think… yes… let's go dancing, Penny," he said, reached out to take his wife's hand in his own and started to swing to the fast rhytm of the music. Turning his head slightly backwards, the elderly man gave Albus one last and mischievous glance. "Let's leave these young ones alone to do… well, _whatever they do in these times_ …"

The auburn haired man wasn't able to see her face, but as their eyes followed the elderly couple, Albus was sure that Minerva was blushing as much as he did.

Slowly losening his arms, he carefully turned her around and looked at her slightly nervous; his cheeks still a little red. "Would you like to dance, Minerva?"

"I would love to, Albus," she replied; her emerald eyes sparkled and the faint blush that was still visible on her cheeks was a wonderful sight.

' _Merlin, she is beautiful,'_ Albus thought and tried to get his beating heart under control as he took her small, soft hand in his and led her on the dance-floor.

And just as he was thinking about how to dance a fast quick-step, the music suddenly changed and a soft and very slow song started to play...

… _As you go through life you'll see_

 _There is so much that we_

 _Don't understand…_

He glanced at Minerva and saw that her emerald eyes had also widened in surprise.

Giving her an encouraging smile, Albus carefully put his hand on the small of her back and a shiver of delight instantly run down his spine upon touching her bare skin.

… _And the only thing we know_

 _Is things don't always go_

 _The way we planned…_

He saw that she was taking in a deep breath, but in the end, she placed her hand on his suit-covered shoulder and he started to lead her to the soft melody of the music.

… _But you'll see everyday_

 _That we'll never turn away_

 _When it seems all your dreams coming true …_

Effortlessly, she followed all of his steps; not matter where he went. Left or right, forwards or backwards… she had not once looked at her feet; her emerald eyes stayed fixed upon his own. After a little bit, he smirked in a boy-ish like manner before he carefully twirled her around and brought her gracefully right back into place. The shy smile she had worn earlier had now transformed into a really bright one.

… _We will stand by your side_

 _Filled with hope and filled with pride_

 _We are more than we are We are one…_

Within time, the respectable distance they had started their dance with had, little by little, vanished. Albus had tightened his hands around her and had lowered his hands from her back down to her waist and pulled her closer to his body so that the fabrics of their clothes were almost touching.

… _Even those who are gone_

 _Are with us as we go on_

 _Your journey has only begun…_

Listening to the lyrics of the song, Albus' thoughts drifted for only a moment back to his sister Ariana. Ever since her death… the auburn haired man hasn't been the same and for a long time he had been afraid to ever let someone in his heart ever again… But when he looked down at the young transfiguration mistress in his arms, who was, by now, dancing with her eyes closed and her head laid against his chest… he knew that Ariana would want him to be happy again…

… _Tears of pain, tears of joy_

 _One thing nothing can destroy_

 _Is our love deep inside_

 _We are one…_

Albus was very well aware of the other people's stares and curious glances in the ball-room they had by now drawn upon themselves, but he couldn't care less. He knew that it was probably a sight not seen everyday… the Headmaster of Hogwarts dancing closely with the transfiguration teacher; but everyone also knew that they had developed a wonderful friendship over the last couple of month Minerva had been teaching.

The auburn haired man also knew that despite the fact that he had still a lot of enemies out there who were lusting after his blood, he would find a way to keep the witch in his arms as safe as possible… because she just belonged there, in his arms.

 _We are one you and I_

 _We are like the earth and sky_

 _One family under the sun_

Bringing her even closer to him, his body now touched hers and the rising heat that was streaming from both of them caused the ebony haired witch to look up. Taking one stray glance to his side, Albus spotted Nicholas and Perenelle and the elderly mentor was grinning brightly at him and sent him an obvious look. Finally he knew why the music had earlier changed all of a sudden and he slightly shook his head at his old friend's antics.

But he understood what Nic was trying to tell him, so Albus skillfully led them into one of the rather abandoned and isolated corners of the dance-floor; away from all the other guest's preying eyes…

… _All the wisdom to lead_

 _All the courage that you need_

 _You will find when you see We are one…_

Albus then took a deep breath and tried to summon up his famous Gryffindor courage; to tell her the words he had planned on saying for quite some time now.

But he decided to take just another moment to simply look at the beautiful witch in his arms, who had by now placed both her arms around his neck; and not for the first time he wondered how lucky he was that he had her.

With one last breath in order to calm his racing heart down, he carefully reached out to lift her chin.

"You are beautiful, Minerva," he whispered in a deep, honest and emotional voice.

Instantly, a lovely blush coloured her cheeks, and she looked at him with those perfect emerald eyes that were shining with… d _are he hope for it_ … love?

The blood was now rushing through his veins and Albus knew that he wouldn't be able to put his feelings into words; so his actions had to speak instead.

So he finally cupped the soft skin of her face with his hands and leaned in to kiss her lovingly on the lips.

When she didn't react, Albus already dreaded that he had misinterpreted the signs she had given him, but once she had come over the first shock, she tightened her arms around his neck, then pressed her slim body against his and returned the kiss with so much passion that Albus' heart was skipping a beat.

Once the need for air got too great, the couple separated; but they continued to stare into each other's eyes; pure love and happiness shining in both of them now.

"Minerva," Albus' breathing was still a little unsteady and his voice was thick with emotion as he stared into her sparkling emerald eyes. "I love you."

For a moment, Minerva's emerald eyes widened and she stood still with Albus strong arms wrapped around her waist. Then, her full and slightly swollen red lips formed into the most wonderful smile Albus had ever seen; the emerald green and low-cut dress she wore paled in comparison to her smile.

"I love you, too, Albus." She whispered softly and stood on her toe-tips to kiss him again; emerald eyes filled with love. "So very much."


	2. Those who are gone are still with us

**Written for the 'Candy floss and broken hearts' Competition, Part II: Write about the last time your OTP (MinervaAlbus) said 'I love you' to each other.  
**

 **Words: 3,377**

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 **Even those who are gone are with us as we go on**

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Minerva hurried out of the headmaster's office as soon as she was sure that the Minister of Magic and his companions had left the Hogwarts grounds and vanished in the night.

With a loud noise, the emerald eyed witch slammed the door shut behind her and continued her way through Hogwarts' _devastatingly_ long corridors.

Unpleasant waves of nausea had already hit her during the meeting with the Minister and by now they were threatening to get the better of her.

She had to get some fresh air as soon as possible.

Increasing her speed as much as her tired legs allowed her to, she was oblivious to the echoing sound of her footsteps on the marble floor and the way her long black robes swished and flowed behind her.

With all her long-trained will power, she tried to keep the tears that were already forming in her emerald-green eyes from flowing freely down her cheeks and without paying the slightest attention to her surroundings, she even ignored the couple of staff members that were still walking around in the corridors.

With the last bit of self-determination, the transfiguration mistress was able to somehow gather up what was left of her remaining strength to push the gigantic entrance doors open to get out on the dark green grounds.

Unable to control her feet any longer, Minerva managed to stumble out of the castle, over the steps and into the quiet night.

Her whole body was trembling, her heart was aching in a way it hadn't in years and her legs felt like they would never be able to carry her any further.

Leaning her body against the trunk of the first tree that came into sight, Minerva forcefully closed her eyes for only a moment and tried to control the amount of overwhelming emotions that were welling up inside of her and causing her to feel completely petrified.

' _Breath, Minerva,'_ the transfiguration mistress thought to herself. _'In and out. In and out. In and out…'_

Despite to the lack of sleep in the last couple of days and the fact that she had been too busy and distracted by taking care of her student's well-being, the preparation of the funeral and the many exhausting meetings with the Minister, Minerva simply didn't have the time to acknowledge the heartwrenching waves of grieve that were building up in her.

But now, they had finally caught up with her and quite literally knocked her out.

Ever since that fateful day, Minerva had tried to play the role of the strong and brave woman everyone expected her to be. The stern, sometimes coldhearted and ice-queen like Head of Gryffindor House everyone thought would handle the situation effortlessly. The witch everyone looked up and leaned on to. The woman everyone assumed to be alone, with no family or loved ones around except for her students…

 _Yes, Minerva had made sure that no one would see exactly how weak and broken she really was on the inside._

She wouldn't let anyone see the tears that were now rolling from her forlorn looking emerald eyes and down her cheeks; she wouldn't show anyone how much she really suffered from the loss of the blue-eyed and candy-loving Headmaster; and she simply couldn't allow her students and friends to know that her well-guarded heart that was usually beating strongly in her chest, felt like it had been shattered into a million of sharp, tiny little pieces…

The pain of losing her beloved husband felt like several sharp knives being stuck right into her chest and remembering the devastating sight of his lifeless body at the bottom of the Astronomy tower would be burned into her mind forever…

Taking one deep breath after the other, the fresh air of the quiet night that filled her lungs slowly managed to cease the unpleasant urge to throw up the contents of her stomach and it helped her to calm down the completely unsteadily beating of her heart.

The tears, however, still kept flowing silently down her face and no matter how furiously Minerva tried to wipe them away with her hand, new ones continued to form in her eyes.

She hadn't expected it, but the touch of her own hand on her cheek reminded her of the way Albus' soft hand felt on her skin whenever he had touched her.

And the memory of her now dead husband once again caused her body to shiver and a half-choked sob escaped her.

' _He would never again wipe away her tears with his hands when she cried…'_ Minerva thought bitterly and balled her hands into fists; so hard that her own nails were piercing into her soft skin. ' _Never again hold her in his strong and protecting arms when she needed comfort…_

 _Never again look at her with his bright and twinkling blue eyes that always made her smile…_

 _He would never again wrap his arm around her waist and dance with her like he had done on their wedding day…_

 _Never again carry her to their bed when he found her fast asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace…_

 _Never again leave her flowers and little notes in her classroom telling her that he would pick her up for dinner…_

 _He would never again wear the black muggle suit he had chosen for the ministry-ball all those years ago; on the day they had finally confessed their love for each other…_

Once again, a sharp pain pierced Minerva's heart upon realizing that Albus would never again sweep her of her feet and kiss her in such a lovely way that made her oblivious to everything else around her… and that he would never again whisper in her ear how much he loved her.

More and more tears streamed down her face and despite her best efforts she couldn't keep her body from trembling even more as she remembered the last time he had said the words to her…

.

" _So this is it then? The final goodbye?" Minerva had asked with a thick voice as she silently closed the office door behind her. She stiffened nervously and tightened her green robe around her._

 _Albus, who had apparently just noticed her, turned around to look at his wife of several decades with sad blue eyes; his blackened hand tightly holding on to his wand._

" _I'm meeting Harry in a couple of minutes, yes."_

 _Minerva nodded slowly and for a moment the two of them just stared at each other. Seconds turned into minutes and the tension between them crackled in the room._

" _Albus-"_

" _Minerva-"_

 _The fact that they had spoken at the same time caused both of them so give a tiny little smile._

" _You go first," Minerva said with a quick gesture of her hand and looked away. She knew that she wasn't able to hold her emotions back for very much longer…_

 _The Headmaster sighed and took a couple of steps forward until he stood directly in front of her; the fabric of his light blue robe almost touching her dark green one._

 _He then reached out to carefully lift her delicate chin, so that she had to look into his glistening blue eyes._

 _Minerva had never liked it when he saw her crying, so she once again worked hard to keep the tears that were already welling up in her eyes at bay._

" _It's not a goodbye, my dear," he finally said._

" _Oh, really? It very much looks like it!" Minerva tried to sound strong and tough, but eventually a lonely tear made its way down her cheek._

 _She furiously wiped it away, but more and more followed._

 _She knew that her husband was going to look for yet another one of Riddle's Horcruxes tonight. She knew that the first of them had been the reason for his blackened and cursed hand and she also knew that right there and then would be the last time she saw her husband alive._

 _Albus then carefully reached out and put one of his strong arms around her._

 _"You know it has to be this way, Minerva. This curse," he slightly moved his blackened hand, "is fatal. And Severus needs to earn Voldemorts trust and the only way to do that -"_

" _Is by killing you," Minerva interrupted in an icy voice and tried to ignore the stabbing pain in her heart._ " _I know. It's for the greater good… it's – it's just," Minerva swallowed hard before she continued. "I – I don't want you to leave. I - I don't want to be alone."_

 _Albus sighed and looked at her with the blue eyes she had fallen in love with all those years ago. This time however, tears were also glistening in them._

 _"Believe me, I'd give everything to change things and be with you," he whispered and carefully pressed her head against his chest._

 _Instinctively, Minerva leaned closer against him and savoured the feeling of her body against his; the warmth that she felt and the sound of his still beating heart managed to calm her down a little._

" _And it's not a goodbye, my love. No matter what, I will be waiting for you; wherever I will go."_

 _He then encircled her waist with his hand, waved his wand and together they moved to the soft music that started to play:_

 **Even those who are gone are with us as we go on, your journey has only begun**

 **Tears of pain, tears of joy, one thing nothing can destroy: Is our love deep inside, we are one.**

 _The lack of sleep in the last couple of days in additon to hearing the lyrics of the lovely song they had first danced to all those years ago and Albus' soft, deep voice that quietly sang along and rang in her ears was Minerva's final breaking point._

 _Tears streamed freely down her cheeks now and the strong witch buried her face in her husband's chest and started sobbing._

 _Still leading his wife to the music, Albus used his one hand to pull her even closer and the other one to carefully remove the pins Minerva always used to secure her hair in the strict bun; then the wizard brushed through her by now slightly grey-streaked ebony hair so that it was cascading down her shoulders._

 _He had done that before, and now the cirlce was closing and Minerva felt like her world was coming to an end. For years, Albus had been her rock, the person she could lean on and now he was going to–_

 _She couldn't even finish the thought without feeling completely alone._

" _You must be strong, my dear," her husband mumbled but she could hear that his voice was cracking. "Help Severus protect the students. Fight like you always did and… tell Arina that she'll be always in my heart. As will you."_

 _Minerva swallowed hard and tried to blink her tears away, but eventually she nodded and lifted her head ever so slightly._

" _I will. I promise," she replied softly. Then she moved her hands around his neck and held on tight._

 _"Albus," she whispered his name for one last time; her emerald eyes were filled with eternal love and trust. "I love you."_

" _I love you, too, my dear," Albus whispered and his voice was thick with emotion. "So very much. Never forget that."_

 _This said, he cupped her cheeks with his good hand and lovingly kissed her one last time with so much passion and the promise that he would always be with her._

 _He then removed his hands and looked into her sad eyes; teary filled emerald eyes meeting watery bright blue ones._

 _Minerva sighed and nodded slowly; she knew what was coming up next._

 _She leaned forward and gave him a last little kiss on the cheek; in a way giving him the final permission to leave her –_ forever _._

 _Albus then took a deep breath to walked towards the door and Minerva watched broken hearted when her husband turned around to look at her for one last time, before he vanished into the dark and left her behind._

 _._

Wiping away her tears, Minerva shook her head to get rid of the memory and took yet another deep breath to fill her lungs with fresh air.

Sighing, the witch let her glance wander over the dark Hogwart's grounds.

When her husband's white marble tomb came in sight, Minerva's swallowed hard. She still wasn't used to the sight...

But taking a closer look, her green eyes widened.

There, in front of the grave, stood a hooded figure and Minerva's heart skipped a beat. She knew exactly who this person was and a tiny spark of hope reached her eyes.

Pulling herself together as good as humanly possible, she pushing her exhausted and still trembling body up from the tree and walked on shaking legs towards the grave until she stood right behind the cloaked person.

The chilly air of the cold night brushed through her hair and robes; but Minerva didn't care.

The time for her own grieving had to wait once more; for Minerva knew that the slender witch in front of her needed support and comfort possibly even more than she did herself.

"You shouldn't be out here on your own in times like these, love," Minerva whispered softly and wiped away the last remains of her tears. "Hogwarts isn't a safe place anymore."

Obviously startled, the young, ebony-haired woman turned around; her wand ready in her hand to defend herself if necessary.

But when her dangerous glance fell on the emerald eyed witch behind her, her teary bright blue eyes softened instantly and a soft sob escaped her.

It took Minerva all the strength she had not to burst into tears again upon seeing those lovely blue eyes that so much resembled her husband's.

"I – I can't believe he's _gone_ ," the young woman whispered in a hoarse voice.

Minerva swallowed and took a deep breath; then tried to summon up what was left of her inner Gryffindor courage and took the shivering young woman into her arms.

"I know it hurts, Arina, but…" she trailed off; struggling to find the right words.

 _How was she supposed to say comforting words when Minerva felt completely broken herself?_

Sighing, she simply tightened her arms closely around the blue-eyed witch, whose head now rested against the transfiguration mistress' chest.

"Even those who are gone are with us as we go on," Minerva finally whispered in a cracking voice and repeated the words Albus had mumbled into her ear the last time she had seen him; the words of _their_ song.

"And remember what your father always used to say… Death - "

"Death is all but the next thrilling adventure. I know... Still, easy for him to say…" the young witch mumbled half-heartedly and another sob escaped her.

Minerva tried to give a small smile and softly brushed her slim fingers through her daughter's dark curls in a soothing gesture.

The seconds passed and neither of the two witches spoke a single word; both lost in their own thoughts as they stared at the white, marble tomb in front of them, that contained the body of the wizard they both loved so much...

The transfigurations mistress just sighed when she saw Arina's attempts to hide her tears; Albus had always remarked how much the two resembled each other.

Neither of them was very keen on showing weakness or pain openly… The long, curly ebony hair, the high cheek-bones and small nose, the delicate fingers and slim figure… not to forget Minerva's famous Scottish temper and stubbornness which they both possessed…

Yes, the only real difference between mother and daughter were their eyes. Arina had inherited Albus' bright and twinkling blue ones, but apart from that and their age difference, she was a carbon copy of her mother.

Thinking about it now, after all those years, they were incredibly lucky that no one had ever found out that Minerva and Albus had been married in the first place, let alone had a child together. Both women would have both become even greater targets and probably used to black-mail Albus had they known the powerful wizard had indeed a family and people he cared for….

Minerva's eyes welled up with tears once again as she remembered Albus' face when she had first told that she was pregnant and the way his utterly stunned and surprised expression turned into the brightest smile she had ever seen… Or the way his twinkling blue eyes shone with pride and unshed tears when Minerva had placed their tiny new-born daughter into his arms and suggested to name her after his deceased sister Ariana…

It was a sight the emerald eyed witch would never forget and it was a memory she would always hold on to, but it still pained her heart greatly when she thought about the future and the life without her husband.

' _Get a grip on yourself, Minerva,'_ she told herself _. 'Conceal your emotions, for Merlin's sake! You don't want your daughter to see you cry, do you?"_

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her daughter's chin so the younger witch had to look into her eyes.

"Your father wanted me to tell you that you'll always be in his heart, love. Never forget that."

Then she wiped Arina's tears away and gave her a small smile. "And as much as it hurts, it's better this way. His hand… in due time it would have only caused him more and more pain."

Arina sighed and turned slightly to look back at the castle, however without leaving her mother's arms. "Hogwarts will never be the same again, will it?"

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "No. At least not for quite some time."

The blue-eyed witch nodded slowly before she waved her wand and whispered a quick spell. A lovely bunch of white roses appeared in her hands and she showed it to her mother, who smiled the first real smile in days.

"Your father loved white roses," Minerva recalled fondly and watched as her daughter put the flowers down in front of the marble tomb.

"It look much nicer now, doesn't it?" The younger ebony-haired witch asked with the hint of a smile on her face.

The transfiguration mistress nodded only; once again she feared that her voice was failing her.

Wordlessly, she retrieved a small, golden necklace from underneath her robes; two elegant golden rings with diamonds hanging on it.

"Look," Minerva simply whispered to her daughter and placed the necklace with her wedding- and engagement ring onto the marble tomb.

Only a couple of seconds later, it glowed in a soft silvery light and small, elegant letters appeared; carefully engraved in the stone:

 _._

 _Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

 _Devoted Headmaster of Hogwarts_

 _Trustful friend_

 _Caring brother_

 _Beloved husband & Loving father_

 _._

"What do you think?" Minerva carefully asked her daughter as she tucked her necklace back in its place and the letters slowly started to vanish, one after the other.

The young blue-eyed witch smiled a small smile and stepped back into her mother's embrace. "It's beautiful, Mum."

"I'm glad you like it," the transfiguration mistress said and tightened her arms around her daughter.

"We'll be alright, won't we, love?"

Arina nodded, not taking her eyes off the grave. "Given time… once the pain fades a little… yes, I think we'll be. You never know what the future might bring, but… if one only remembers to turn on a light, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, right?"

Minerva chuckled softly and placed a small kiss on her daughter's forehead.

"You sound like a seer predicting the future, my dear."

Being aware of her mother's distaste concerning everything related to divination, the blue eyed witch laughed softly and wiped away the last remains of her earlier tears. Then she also inhaled the fresh air of the quiet night.

"No, Mum," Arina finally whispered in an emotional voice and looked with her bright blue eyes into her mother's emerald green ones. "I sound like my father."


End file.
